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Drill attack victim left with hole in her skull, court told

Thursday, 10 May 2018

A 17-year-old youth accused of being involved in an assault on a woman in which it was alleged she suffered injuries to her skull from a drill, was remanded in custody when he appeared at a special sitting of Omagh Magistrates Court on Monday.The hearing before District Judge Peter King heard graphic details of the alleged incident in the Railway Street-Wesley Street area near Ruby's Nightclub in Strabane in the early hours of Saturday last.At the outset of the case the accused confirmed to the district judge that he was 17-years-old and he was told to remain standing while the charges against him were read.These alleged that on May 5 and without lawful authority or excuse he had in his possession in a public place an offensive weapon, namely a power drill; that he stole the said drill from Ruby's Nightclub, Strabane and that he caused grievous bodily harm to the local woman, Brenda McLaughlin.The youth cannot be identified because of his age.His solicitor, Ciaran McGuinness from J Fahy and Co., Strabane, indicated he would be applying for bail to which the Detective Constable in charge of investigating the case said he would be opposing this.The Detective Constable said he believed he could connect the accused to all three charges.He said how around 2.12am last Saturday morning a police patrol operating on another street in Strabane was flagged down by members of the public. They drew their attention to a female who was lying on the ground."It would seem she had an amount of blood coming from her head and she was lapsing in and out of consciousness. As police tended to her, she appeared to take a number of fits or seizures," he said.He pointed out that in one of the moments where she was coming in and out of consciousness she told police she had been attacked by a youth."He had dirty fair hair and had been wearing a blue top. She also told police she believed she had been attacked by reason of her sexuality. Other witnesses in the area told police the identity of the assailant."Full story in this week's Strabane Weekly News.